Please open your Chromebooks

SSUSD is helping its students gain computer literacy to meet new state standards by using Google Chromebooks.

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By Mike BodineSTAFF WRITERmbodine@ridgecrestca.com

Ridgecrest Daily Independent - Ridgecrest, CA

By Mike BodineSTAFF WRITERmbodine@ridgecrestca.com

Posted Jan. 25, 2014 at 9:00 AM

By Mike BodineSTAFF WRITERmbodine@ridgecrestca.com

Posted Jan. 25, 2014 at 9:00 AM

Schools throughout the state and nation are getting ready to implement the new academic standards, the Common Core. Common Core requires students be computer literate for the testing and teaching.

Sierra Sands Unified School District has decided to go with the Google Application-based Chromebook to handle the task. The Chromebooks are smaller than a regular laptop computer, but with a full-sized keyboard. The district has so far purchased more than 2,000 Chromebooks, some with seed money from the state for Common Core implementation and some through a grant from the Department of Defense.

The machines are making their initial run in English classes in elementary and high school. Pierce Elementary School got hold of the computers last year and took a trial assessment test with the machines.

Next year, all schools will be mandated to take the Common Core assessment tests.

Schools are trying to get the technology into the students' hands as soon as possible, and trying to work out the glitches in the systems and how teachers will integrate technology into their curriculum. The district also wants to make sure that every student is computer literate before taking the tests.

English Department Chair Susie Burgess said it would be an injustice to the students to give them a test that uses tools the students do not how to use. It would be an unfair assessment of the students.

And assessment of students is a major component of Common Core, as it will replace the old STAR testing, and it is tied to funding.

Burgess said about assessments, "I want to know how our students are doing, but I have confidence in what the students know."

Part of this confidence comes from Burgess' and other

teachers' ability to be able to keep tabs on students' progress much closer than before. Instructors can log into the Chromebooks to see where kids are with some assignments and send notes and pointers. This is a far cry from assigning a project and waiting days or weeks to get the finished project, and even longer for the teacher to grade and comment on the paper and for the student to get the feedback.

There are "Big Brother" protocols and procedures in place to keep an eye on kids. Each Chromebook is numbered and assigned to a specific student. The activity on the Chromebooks can be monitored by the teachers and administration.

There are filters in place, Burgess explained, to ensure the focus stays on scholarly research and papers. But situations can arise during research, such as when searching for information on breast cancer, that can bring unwanted results, because the searches are word-based.

Burgess gave an example of a student asked to write on the topic of his choice, and he chose violence in schools and the ready availability of firearms to students. He searched "how easy is it for a student to get a gun" through the databases. Burgess said the search sent the red flags up almost immediately. But, the search could be traced back to the specific Chromebook at the exact time of the search and who was registered to the machine at that time. It could be determined that the search was of an academic nature.

Page 2 of 3 - Burgess explained the school was able to find and integrate the Hapara Dashboard into its system. The system allows teachers to monitor each Chromebook and a student's progress or history.

Teachers can interact with the students in unprecedented ways thanks to the Hapara system and the Chromebooks. A student can be working on an assignment on the Chromebook and the instructor can monitor the work and make comments or notes on the writing at the same time. This is much faster feedback response time than the old system.

For example, an instructor can have the class stop right in the middle of an assignment to comment on a literary passage and make those comments on the Chromebooks. Hapara assists in collecting every student's remarks into a single document, and the teacher can then display the comments on the overhead projector.

Burgess said this way of sharing allows everyone a chance to comment. The machines are a way to break down barriers for shy students who may not otherwise comment or participate and be vocal in front of the class. Chromebooks level the playing field of participation, so now not just the boisterous and extroverted students are heard in class, but everyone shares and everyone in the class can see everyone else's comments.

The same is true for essays — when the teacher asks for thesis statements, the kids can all type their's in and they are displayed for everyone to see. Burgess said the process of gathering every student's thesis statement and compiling them into one document for sharing and review was a chore.

"Its a good marriage between writing, sharing and revision," Burgess said.

Hapara allows the teacher to view all the Chromebooks at once, every screen at once, while the students are working. Burgess said she can go "Big Brother" on them and send e-notes to students who may be off task. But the kids are on task and they want to be, Burgess said.

The students are very engaged and excited about working with Chromebooks. "Technology is their world," Burgess said. "This is a nice way to bridge their style with ours."

The Chromebooks are also increasing communication and collaboration. It has been mentioned at other meetings about Common Core and the focus on computers could take away from students talking to each other, or learning to be able to communicate socially and effectively.

Its having the opposite effect, according to Burgess. She said her experience and what she's heard from other teachers is that the technology has opened the doors to communication. Students aren't shy about helping each other and are quick to do so. The students are interacting about their computers and assignments with each other.

Burgess said she attributes the increase in communication to the technology – the screens and keyboard – as the students' "natural mode of discourse."

Page 3 of 3 - Kids can use the Chromebooks for organizing, so a big essay, for example, can be cut down into bite-size pieces, such as a five-page essay that was once a looming cloud over kids head, and can now be done in little parts and then put together. Teachers are looking for ways to make bigger assignments into smaller manageable parts.

Burgess explained teachers can embed more informal writing practices that lead to longer formal writing pieces.

Students also take notes and revise them on the Chromebooks, and often share the notes with peers.

She said she was very excited about the Chromebooks because she knows that the students will have college courses with online components, and the students will have a mastery of that form of learning.

The Chromebooks are not only a necessity of Common Core, but computer literacy is a necessity in the modern workplace. Nearly every aspect of modern life involves technology and computers.

Student comments

Students from Burgess' Junior Honors English class on Thursday were working on the Chromebooks as they read passages from a book. At one point, Burgess stopped the reading and asked the students to type a comment and share with the class. The kids floated from the printed page to the electronic screen with ease.

Chase May made comments as if pre-written, "The Chromebooks are an amazing addition to the class. They are so versatile of what they have to offer."

Noah Kinman said he found it easier to listen and take notes on the Chromebooks than writing the notes with pen and paper. He said it allows him to pay more attention to Burgess with less attention spent on taking notes.

Jazmine Martinez's comments were short but direct: "They are essential and resourceful."

Emily Mount said the Chromebooks are helping get organized. She said papers would get crumpled or torn, lost in other clutter in a backpack or locker.

"We don't have to lug a 50-pound book from class to class," Jonathan Heier said.

Burgess said she is able to upload individual pieces, such as poems, to the kids' Chromebooks. Burgess said this is a time and cost savings for the school and teachers. Before Chromebooks Burgess would have to make hundreds of copies of work for the students, as would many teachers. She said she's seeing fewer and fewer teachers spending time next to the Xerox machine — a considerable cost savings for the school.